THE NATION

Romney Taxed as a Utah Resident

BOSTON — Mitt Romney, the former Salt Lake City Olympics chief now running for Massachusetts governor, paid property taxes on a Utah home as his "primary residence" from 1999 to 2001, and received a $54,000 tax discount as a result, the Boston Globe reported Wednesday.

The tax records could add to debate about whether Romney meets Massachusetts' residential requirements to be governor. The state constitution requires a candidate to live in Massachusetts for seven years before an election. Romney also has a home in Belmont.

A Romney spokesman said Romney never sought the "primary residence" designation for his Park City, Utah, home, and both Romney and the county assessor in Summit County, Utah, blamed it on a clerical mistake.

"Mitt was under-billed for his property tax," said Romney's spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom. In Utah, nonresidents pay taxes on 100% of the assessed value of a home, while residents pay on 55%. Romney paid $22,599 on the home, valued at $3.8 million, about $54,000 less than he would have paid as a nonresident, the Globe reported.